Lockport’s Katie Peetz severely injured her thumb on Jan. 27 at Homewood-Flossmoor. She has had it heavily taped ever since, but that hasn’t stopped her from being aggressive.
For example, the 5-foot-11 junior forward jumped into the fray Tuesday night and hit the court hard a couple of times, all the while having to break her fall with that injured hand.
“I’ll take a few Advil and go out there and help my team,” Peetz said. “If I fall on the floor a couple of times, I’m going to still try.”
Her pain has been the Porters’ gain. She picked up nine points and 12 rebounds, helping host Lockport come through with a 57-45 SouthWest Suburban Conference victory over Sandburg.
Evelyn Ingram led the Porters (21-9, 12-4) with 19 points — all in the first three quarters — and five rebounds. Addison Way set the tone with a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 12 points as Lockport avenged a 49-44 loss to the Eagles on Dec. 16 in Orland Park.
In the rematch, Ellie Driscoll led Sandburg (14-17, 6-10) with 13 points, while Olivia Trunk added 10 points and her twin sister, Zoe, followed with nine.
But back to Peetz for a moment. The fact that she’s not backing off despite her injury doesn’t really surprise Lockport coach Darien Jacobs. Over the years, he has seen how tough she is.
“She’s bruised up a little bit and she plays through it,” Jacobs said of Peetz. “She tries to get her hand on every loose ball and every rebound. She’ll dive on the ground.
“A lot of the stuff you see her do during the game she does in practice. She’s our energizer at practice and she does a lot of energy transfers in regards to making the hustle play in practice and getting everyone amped up.”
Peetz’s sister, Alaina, played with the Porters last season and the sisters were teammates.
Alaina, a freshman forward at St. Xavier, is making a huge impression right away. She earned honors twice as the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s defensive player of the week.
Katie confirmed that her older sister has been a good teacher when it comes to playing defense.
“I’ve learned a ton from her,” Katie said of Alaina. “I think that’s really helped me. I’ve adapted a lot of things that she has done like trying to encourage the rest of the team.
“Her help defense is amazing and her talking on the floor is something I’m learning from her. She definitely inspires me.”
Katie has taken notice of Aliana’s toughness over the years as well. Two years ago, Alaina missed the season after undergoing two hip surgeries.
“She came back her senior year and it was like it never happened,” Katie said of Alaina. “She was always working. She was trying to shoot when she was on crutches while she was recovering.
“It was awesome to see.”
Way, meanwhile, enjoys watching Katie’s aggressiveness.
“She’s definitely a leader on the court,” Way said. “She’s always jumping for rebounds and getting in the mix. She’s everywhere on the court.”
Peetz has become a strong basketball player, but her first love is running. She’s a three-time state qualifier in cross country and a two-time state qualifier in track.
She pointed out that her college future will likely be in running but loves both sports.
“I love the team aspect of basketball,” she said. “There is always somebody there supporting you. If you don’t have a good game, then somebody else does.
“Cross country is different in that you are running by yourself but you are still helping the team. I love it.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
